Bullish Goldman Sachs report sends RIM skyward

Riding on the coattails of a recent rebound, yet another analyst has upgraded Research in Motion. The struggling smartphone vendor that many had deemed down for the count has now seen a bit of a rebound over the past few weeks as Wall Street continues to become increasingly optimistic about the BlackBerry 10 operating system. Shares of RIM (RIMM) reacted positively again on Thursday following a rare upgrade from Goldman Sachs. An analyst for the firm became one of the first to slap a Buy rating on the BlackBerry-maker with a price target of $16 per share. Goldman Sachs also expects that in the coming fiscal year, RIM will finally return to profitability.

“We are upgrading Research in Motion to Buy from Neutral, as we see a positive risk/reward heading into its BlackBerry 10 launch on Jan. 30,” Goldman analyst Simona Jankowski said in a note to clients, according to Reuters. “For the first time in 3 years, we think out-year Street estimates are too low as they don’t capture” potential results from the forthcoming device.”

RIM shares opened at $12.30 on Thursday, having gained nearly 12% in early morning trading following Goldman’s positive report.